Kazakhstan hosts the first Consultation of the UNECE PPP Business Advisory Board
Geneva, 20 March 2009 --
The UNECE PPP Business Advisory Board held its first consultative meeting with senior members of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the prospects for undertaking Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the country on 13 March 2009.
A large number of ministries and agencies attended the Consultative meeting, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers of Economy, Transport and Health as well as representatives from Ministries of Finance, Energy and Mineral Resources and the Kazakhstan PPP Centre. The Consultation was opened by UNECE Executive Secretary Mr. Ján Kubiš. The UNECE PPP Business Advisory Board was represented by the following private companies: Deloitte Touche, Pinsent Masons, and Mott Macdonald, as well as by the EBRD, the International Road Federation and the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
As a large country, rich in resources, Kazakhstan has a pressing need to upgrade its infrastructure – roads, rail, ports and pipes, - to ensure that its products reach foreign markets as cheaply and efficiently as possible. PPPs have become accordingly a top priority.
The participants discussed the impact of the financial crisis on PPP projects that are currently being prepared by the Government. In this regard, the lack of internal and external credit for projects meant that there was a need to prioritize and to find more innovative schemes for filling the financial gap. Members of the board stated that a combination of subsidies, supports by international financial institutions and bilateral arrangements with other sovereign states, export credit agencies and securing lending on exports of commodities, could take the place - even if temporarily - for the lack of lending by commercial banks.
A detailed discussion on the institutional and regulatory framework for PPPs also took place and members of the Board acknowledged the progress that the country had made in developing the legal framework and the creation of a strong and dynamic PPP Centre. At the same time, they advised that despite the urgency to start projects, carrying out of financial modelling for each project was desirable in order to avoid unexpected problems, while in some cases the cheaper option might be to undertake projects as a normal procurement and not as a PPP.
Speaking at the first consultation, Sir Adrian Montague, Chairman of the UNECE PPP Advisory Board declared: “Each country should find its own model for doing PPPs but at the same time, many challenges in getting started in PPPs are common to all Governments. Regular exchanges of experiences between Kazakhstan and other countries therefore can help Kazakhstan avoid some of the mistakes that have been made when these other countries started their own PPP programmes.”
As a result of this meeting, an action plan to develop the PPP concept in the country will be prepared. This consultation will be the first in a series of cooperation activities with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Consultations with other countries are planned. The day before the Consultative Meeting, the UNECE and the PPP Centre of Kazakhstan held a session on PPPs at the Second Astana Economic Forum which was opened by Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The session elaborated a set of recommendations on promoting PPPs that was included in an open letter to the G20 Ministers.
Background information
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are innovative, long-term contractual arrangements for developing public infrastructure and providing public services by introducing private sector financing, motivation and expertise into areas that are normally the responsibility of governments.
The UNECE PPP Business Advisory Board consists of senior business leaders who have been active in PPPs worldwide. The core focus of the board is to recommend options to governments on how best to introduce the private sector into their PPP programme, providing governments with a ‘sounding board‘ to their PPP policies and projects and how to deal with the private sector so as to successfully bring them into the government’s PPP programme. It operates as an independent, impartial and neutral body within the framework of the UNECE Committee on Economic Cooperation of Integration, not promoting any specific commercial interest, group of companies or countries.
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Geoffrey Hamilton
Chief, Cooperation and Partnerships Section
UNECE Economic Cooperation and Integration Division
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 2838
Email: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/ECID/09/P01